Microwavable baked goods have been commercially sold in which consumers may warm prebaked food products, such as soft cookies, in an microwave oven to make them more savory. Ideally, a robust aroma should be released from the microwaved food product that mimics the aroma of a freshly baked good or otherwise provides a pleasant aroma to a consumer of the product.
The presence and increased concentration of a flavor additive in a food product may help improve aroma-production. However, food production costs generally increase with increased use of additives. Moreover, the introduction of high levels of artificial flavor additives may impart an undesirable chemical taste. Techniques for imparting increased and controllable aroma impact at reduced flavor additive levels are desirable in the food technologies. Many food flavoring materials tend to be sensitive to exposure to air, moisture, light, and so forth. Unprotected flavoring materials applied on exposed outer surfaces of food products will tend to be more easily degraded during storage of the food product. As a result, the release of aromas from unprotected flavoring materials tends to be diminished when the food product is reheated after storage.
One generally known technique for protecting perishable or degradable edible materials is microencapsulation. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,236 describes encapsulation of food ingredients and other substrates using microcapsules made of a high laurate vegetable oil, which permit slow release of a food acid into a foodstuff. U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,340 describes an aroma-producing composition combined with a microwave-comestible and/or microwavable package so that aroma is released when the comestible is prepared in a microwave oven. U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,340 describes a lipid that enrobes an aroma-producing material and inhibits release of aroma at ambient or storage temperatures. When irradiated with microwave energy, the lipid is intended to melt, thereby causing the aroma-producing material to release its aroma. One challenge associated with microencapsulation is the difficulty in sticking flavor microcapsules to the food surface or otherwise incorporating them in the food without rupturing them.
As another disclosed food flavoring technique, U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,751 describes edible fat-based flakes containing a flavoring system comprising 20 to 90 percent fat with a Stevens hardness at 25° C. of more than 65 g and optionally moisture, a flavoring system, sugar, filler, and a health component. The fat is selected from natural or hydrogenated glycerides based on fatty acids of twelve or more carbon atoms. U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,752 describes edible fat-based flakes having a size of 0.05 to 2.5 cm, in which the flakes have a composition that contains a baker compatible fat that displays a Crystal-5 value of at least 40 percent and a Crystal-5 to N20 ratio of at least 0.55, and optionally moisture, a flavoring system, sugar, and filler. According to this patent, the Crystal-5 value is the amount of crystallized fat, obtained after cooling a fat to 20° C. for 5 minutes and the N20 value is the solid fat content for the fat as measured by known NMR pulse measurement on a non-stabilized fat. The discrete flavoring flakes are described as an ingredient for the preparation of bakery and snack products in which they are understood to be intimately admixed into the bulk of food products, and they were not described as available on food surfaces in quantities that might support robust aroma release.
There remains a need for food technologies that can offer increased and controllable aroma impact to the consumer at reduced additive levels. The present invention may be used to fulfill these, as well as other needs and objectives, as will be apparent from the following description of embodiments of the present invention.